Jackson Inventors Network

Speaker: Dennis G Shaver

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Agenda: 6:00–6:30 PM / Networking 6:30–8:00 PM / Program

Dennis G Shaver is an American Entrepreneur, Amazon International Best-Selling Author, Coach, Trainer, Speaker, and a former Fortune 500 leader. Dennis specializes in empowering entrepreneurial leadership in corporations, education, established businesses, startups and aspiring entrepreneurs.

Shaver began his career as an entrepreneur at age 5 on the large family dairy farm alongside his 6 brothers. Dennis’s father taught the 7 brothers as a team how to be creative and innovative to effectively “MacGyver” things to keep equipment working properly.

After graduating from high school, Dennis was hired as an hourly manufacturing employee at General Motors Corp. After receiving his first degree in business, Dennis was promoted to several GM divisions in various management capacities. Dennis also held key leadership positions at PepsiCo/Frito-Lay, A.O. Smith Corporation and The Clorox Corporation in; Engineering, Manufacturing, R&D, Business Development, Human Resources and Organizational Development. Dennis also served as Founder and President for several successful entrepreneurial business startups

Tues., Nov. 24, 2020 • Agenda: 6:10–6:30 PM

Sign-in • 6:30–8:00 PM / Program

Steve Feinman has 35 years of successful executive leadership experience, including yearly projects of $1.5 – 5.5 million, multi-year projects with annual revenues in excess of $10 million, and a SPAWAR BOASS contract for more than $70 million. His research for NSF and other federal agencies included work in economic policy, technological innovation adoption, and diffusion, the use and application of scientific and technical information.

As a SCORE Mentor in the Ann Arbor Chapter of SCORE, Steve provides Art Advisory, Art Marketing, and strategic marketing service to small businesses. He was a SCORE District Director from 2010 to 2017. His areas of interest include fine art marketing, strategic marketing and sales, government contracting, heavy and specialty construction. In 2015, Feinman was named Small Business Counselor of the Year by the SBA Michigan District Office.

Dr. Mehdi Ilkhani-Pour has been a business leader and executive for 35 years. He spent his corporate career with three global companies: Owens-Corning, BASF, and Freudenberg. His career has encompassed Product Development, Operations, Marketing & Sales, and General Management. He was a Regional CEO and Global Executive Vice President in his most recent corporate roles. He has been closely involved in mergers and acquisitions, and has been on company boards.

Ilkhani-Pour also pursued his entrepreneurial passion, founding his own company and successfully growing its value over several years. He was a business consultant and executive leadership coach since 2016. He is also a mentor to small business owners through the non-profit SCORE organization.

Mehdi received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue University.

Oct. 27, 2020, 6:30-8:00 p.m.

Speaker: Rick Arnold, Broadview Product Development

Arnold is the owner and president of Broadview Product Development, an engineering firm located in Zeeland, MI, dedicated to serving industry and individuals with Product Development.

Rick Arnold, owner and president of Broadview Product Development

At Broadview Product Development, the goal is to help you introduce innovative, cost-effective, quality products. The company offers engineering consulting, contract engineering and CAD, rapid prototyping, manufacturing process development and improvement, and product launch support.

Due to the COVID pandemic, JIN is currently hosting meetings on the ZOOM platform. Any device with internet access can get you access to a Zoom meeting. Meeting ID and password will be e-mailed to all who RSVP.

PLEASE RSVP to Jon Roty at roty1@sbcglobal.net

Meeting: Sept. 22 Online zoom meeting begins at 6:30 p.m,.

Be a part of the process as we look at select videos from Kickstarter and Indiegogo to see if they were a winning campaign or not, then discuss and see if we can learn from what they did right or wrong. According to Kickstarter, a video is by far the best way to get a feel for the emotions, motivations, and character of a project. It’s a demonstration of effort and a good predictor of success. Projects with videos succeed at a much higher rate than those without (50% vs. 30%).Don’t miss this different, interesting, fun and insightful way to learn about crowdsourcing campaigns.

Don Skaggs is an inventor, entrepreneur, speaker, author, and consultant to a wide range of businesses. In his 20+ years of experience, Skaggs has bootstrapped companies from startup to exit, negotiated with multinational companies, developed product lines, orchestrated product launches, negotiated company acquisitions, introduced new technologies to untapped markets, and has created and launched national conferences and events. In 1991,

He co-founded US Biotex Corporation, successfully developing and introducing many new innovations into the pathology laboratory
market. In 2001 he founded 3Gen Scientific, a specialty product developer for the life-science industry.

Skaggs is president of Empowered Inventing, providing specialized courses, consulting and vetted services for inventors, entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses. He is also president of the Inventors Network KY, a nonprofit that helps inventors through education and support services. He holds a CBA at Gatton College of Business and Economics, along with several patents and patents pending.

JIN will be hosting a virtual meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 25 at 6:30 PM. Our speaker will be Aimee Carroll from Edison Nation and the television show “Everyday Edisons.“

Carroll is a leading team member with Edison Nation, Inc., a contributing member of the Edison Nation Inventor Advisory Board, a member of the Edison Nation Leadership Team and an IGA Advisory Board Member. She works alongside Edison Nation’s product development and licensing team and is the head of inventor outreach.

Aimee graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Advertising. She founded Aspire Design & Innovations, LLC in 2014 to connect aspiring small business, entrepreneurs, and inventors with the people and resources needed to help them succeed. Since starting Aspire in 2014, Aimee has coordinated efforts to help over 200 entrepreneurs develop and connect with resources necessary to launching their businesses.

Aimee is the founder and organizer of 1 Million Cups South Bend-Elkhart, a nationally run community program offered through the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation dedicated to serving entrepreneurs, inventors, and start-ups.

Ken Seneff, co-founder of Lean Rocket Lab, will present “The Mom Test: How to validate your idea when everyone is lying to you” at the Feb. 25 meeting of the Jackson Inventors Network. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. at Lean Rocket Lab, 133 W. Michigan Ave., Jackson, MI 49201.

Ken has a passion for growth. Throughout Ken’s journey as an entrepreneur, he has had some pretty cool successes and fantastic failures. In the process, he has learned a lot about the lean startup method and is passionate about helping other companies and startups through the lean startup methodology.

Ken is a co-founder of, and currently operates the Lean Rocket Lab – a nonprofit, co-working space, startup incubator, and business accelerator in downtown Jackson, MI.

Additionally, he is a partner at the Lean Rocket Group where they provide outsourced CMO and marketing department services.

Two of Ron Betzig’s passions in life are teaching and entrepreneurship, so he finds great joy in teaching the practice of entrepreneurship to talented and diverse groups of students. Ron will bring his passion in a vital brainstorming session Tuesday, Jan. 28, at 6:30 p.m. at the Lean Rocket Lab in downtown Jackson.

Ron is a Professor and Director of the Entrepreneurship Program at Jackson College in Michigan. His most recent focus is international entrepreneurship, having launched a course in International Business during the Fall 2018 semester. Ron serves as a guest lecturer at colleges and businesses throughout the world, including as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar to Indonesia for six months in 2019. He loves working with entrepreneurs, helping them identify market needs and develop their businesses.

Prior to entering the teaching profession in 2003, Ron co-founded several businesses, including University Consulting Group, Inc., Trade Links International, Inc., and Ann Arbor Machine Company. He holds Master’s degrees in Business Administration and Education, both from the University of Michigan, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Northwestern University.

Agenda:

6:00–6:30 PM Registration

6:30–7:30 PM Program

7:30–8:30 PM Networking

With Cowork at Ferris Wheel, businesses and startups alike can make use of a solitary desk or a comprehensive headquarters. Their business hospitality services land coworkers in the middle of some of the brightest doers in the USA, with access to conference rooms, office space, phones, wifi and printers night and day. Not to mention the brains and energy in the entrepreneurial and coworking ecosystem around them.

The Flint Ferris Wheel/100K Ideas is the leader for innovation in the world.

100K is Housed in the Ferris Wheel, we are a non-profit with a mission to relieve the innovator of the entrepreneurial burden. We know entrepreneurship can be difficult, and that’s why we’re here to help. As a community of student professionals, lead by a dynamic leadership team, we vet entrepreneurial ideas to provide a helping hand in business development to anyone regardless of their prior experience or background.

We are meeting at the park & ride on US-127 at the Berry Rd exit (north of Jackson) at 5:00. We are leaving 5:30. If you need a ride or can drive please email John Hopkins or call ASAP. John can take 3 in his car. Also, if you live near Ann Arbor, Frank & Arthur are carpooling from there, using US-23. We need to know if you are going so you must RSVP by phone or email.

2019 Membership dues are due $45.00 keeps you in know of one of the most significant inventor groups in the country! Your dues help us cover the minimal costs to keep this group going and services for you.

Meeting Agenda Location

5:30 p.m. – Leaving Park & Ride Flint Ferris Wheel

7:00-8:00 p.m. – Program @ FerrisWheel Flint 615 S Saginaw St

8:30-8:30 p.m. – Networking Flint, MI 48502

Directions: http://www.ferriswheelflint.com/en/about

Go to their website there is a map or GPS their address

This month come and learn how to license your product or business idea.

David Fedewa, negotiations coach and licensing specialist has coached over 100 students to successfully license their own products. He has been featured in Inc. and Entrepreneur’s online publications on licensing and negotiation strategy. He has licensed five of his own products, with one being featured on Time magazine, CHIVE, and CNET Father’s Day Product of The Year list. David and his team built the world’s largest actively managed database of companies that license new innovative products. His strengths lie where business and psychology meet. While coaching students through multi-million dollar negotiations, he not only looks at the present deal at hand but teaches strategies that can be used in constructing deals with a win-win scenario throughout life.

Meeting Agenda August 27th Location

6:00 – 6:30 p.m. – Registration Lean Rocket Lab,

6:30-7:30 p.m. – Program (East side door)

7:30-8:30 p.m. – Networking 133 W. Michigan Ave

Jackson, MI 49201

Where do entrepreneurs and inventors go after they have a working prototype, talked to a patent attorney and are ready to move forward but don’t have the resources to launch? But who and how?

Fred Molnar, vice president of Entrepreneurism and Innovation at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and the executive director of the Michigan Life Science and Innovation Center (MLSIC), and Phil Tepley, SBDC Tech Team and Growth team leader, will be speaking about state government resources. The Entrepreneurship team works with universities, tech start-ups, start-up technology-based businesses and tech service providers to help grow and to diversify the Michigan economy. The team oversees the 20 legislatively formed SmartZones across the state.

Molnar has 35 years’ experience working in the private sector with large and small life science companies. Previous to MEDC, was COO at iCyt Mission Technology, a life-science startup spun-off from the University of Illinois later acquired by Sony. He was later vice president of sales, Marketing and Services, at Sony Biotechnology and later founded, operated and successfully sold Champion Gymnastics, Ann Arbor, MI.

Molnar and Tepley can answer your questions. We hope you will join Jackson’s faithful group of inventors and entrepreneurs on June 25 ^that the Lean Rocket Lab, 133 W. Michigan Ave., Jackson, MI 49201.

Meeting Agenda Location

6:00 – 6:30 p.m. – Registration Lean Rocket Lab

6:30-7:30 p.m. – Program (East side door)

7:30-8:30 p.m. – Networking 133 W. Michigan Ave

Jackson, MI 49201

Jackson Inventors Network

January meeting: A Market Viable Product on a Lean Budget

November meeting: SCORE Business Mentors

October Meeting: Prototyping

September meeting: Kickstarter: Pass or Fail?

August meeting: Edison Nation

February meeting: The Mom Test: How to validate your idea when everyone is lying to you

Jan. 28 Meeting: Brainstorming the Idea

Agenda:

Jackson Inventors Sept. 24 meeting is a road trip to the Flint Ferris Wheel

The Flint Ferris Wheel/100K Ideas is the leader for innovation in the world.

Aug. 27th meeting: Royalties, Passive Income, through Licensing your Invention with David Fedewa

June 25th meeting: What resources do the State of Michigan and agencies offer us?

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